Does This Count as Online Dating?
by A Girl who Fans
Summary: Youtuber and fangirl, Kate McComb, is moving to London for a change of pace. Purely by accident she bumps into her internet idols and might just fall in love. Phil/OC possibly Dan/OC later on. xX NOT PHAN Xx
1. Wanderlust

**This is a Phil/OC fic that my friend convinced me to write. OC are based off of myself and people in my life. I am Kate, in real life and the story. I am trying my damndest to be original here so roll with the first couple chapters.**

_Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop._

The woman beside me on the plane will not shut up. No amount of polite stewardesses can tame this beast of a woman. This was a scenario where a family had, for god-knows-what reason, sat in separate aisles and I magically ended up on the outside seat between them. By the window sat a small, tubby child who had complained for the past six hours. His mother sat in the middle, beside me, and yelled at him as well as her husband who was also next to me across the aisle. Oh what a time to be alive.

I ought to have been happy, ecstatic even, but my cynicism was prevailing due to circumstances. Normally I loved planes, loved airports, loved anything to do with traveling but my spirit and soul were crushed, shattered fragments at the feet of my fellow passenger. Maybe I'm just mellow-dramatic.

I could have just spent the extra money to_ not sit here_ but with the future ahead of me so unsure, I hadn't dared. You see, I'm moving to London for a year but apart from that small tidbit I had no plans for what came next. Wanderlust had taken hold and my funds earned from working through high school would be put towards traveling instead of college.

I had decided quite a long time ago that I was not a responsible person nor did I want to be. I didn't see the point in being successful or rich if you were wasting the years of your life where you could have the most fun. I wanted to enjoy my twenties, build memories, go on adventures. It seemed like a far better alternative to paying to go to university where I would likely be unhappy anyway.

So here I was, on a flight to a new beginning and an enormous 'Great Perhaps'. I wasn't scared or excited really, I just wanted to take each day as it came. Yet as philosophical and deep as my intentions were, at the moment I felt homicidal.

I turned up my music to drown out the sound of "Mom, are we there yet?"" .

_Hear me_  
_What words just can't convey_  
_Feel me_  
_Don't let the sun in your heart decay_

My favorite band, Muse, blared in my ears and all was well with the world.

_Attention passengers, we are scheduled to land at London International Airport within 15 minutes_

A smile spanned my lips at the call. Maybe I was a little excited. I ran a hand through my hair which had become tangled and matted from rubbing on the seat rest for hours while I tried (unsuccessfully) to get comfortable. I took a brush from my carry on and attempted to fix myself. I hand very long, honey colored hair that everyone envied yet I hated. It tangled easily and could never hold a curl. My eyes are a shade of green that strays towards blue when I'm angry. I'm a very short person at about 5 foot, 1 inch, which caused me a lot of grief and bullying in high school. I grew up in a really small town in New York where the best form of humor was picking on people because no one was smart enough to tell a joke. I hated everything about it there and couldn't be happier to leave.

The plane landed safely and we began to deboard. I always loved walking through to tunnels and emerging into the terminal and couldn't help but grin. I immediately began to scan the area for my friend and now-flatmate, Sarah. We'd grown up together and she had fled the place as soon as she was eighteen. After getting a degree in journalism, she'd moved to London. She worked for a small paper and also directed miniature films that her and a group of friends posted on the Internet.

I spotted her sipping Starbucks and she got that weird smirk on her face that she did when she didn't know how to behave in public. I wanted to laugh but instead I hurried towards her and threw my arms around my friend I hadn't seen in years.

"Catheriinnee!" She squealed in delight as though we were sixteen again. My full name is Catherine and she is literally the only person in the world to call me that. I go by Kate to everyone else.

Sarah was slightly taller than me and a natural blond, but her hair was dyed blue at the moment and curled expertly. I rather liked it. She has a large, Italian nose and eyes that were practically black. She looked like a gothic princess but she was really just a six year old in an adults body.

We chatted while we got my extensive amount of luggage and hailed a taxi. My other belongings had been shipped over earlier.

Dusk was falling as we stood in front of her, _our_, apartment building and hauled my suitcases to the elevator. A handsome man with sandy blond curls was walking down the hall with his hands in his pockets as we approached. He brightened when he saw Sarah and looked confusedly at me.

"Jake! What're you doing here?" She exclaimed and looked embaressed by her noise level.

"Looking for you." He smiled a flirty smile and I sensed a thing between them. "Who's your friend?" He questioned.

"Jake, meet my long-time friend and flatmate, Kate. Kate, this is Jake, my, uhh..."

"Romantic interest." He winked. Oh god I could see how she fell for him. "I'll catch up with you later, I can see you're busy." His comment wasn't rude, mearly an observation and Jake left with a heartbreaking smile.

"Damn."

"Yeah." Sarah sighed and put the key in the lock to flat 6E. It was furnished exactly how I had expected; clean and modern and maybe even a little feng shui. Past the kitchen and adjacent living room was Sarah's room which consisted of a bed, and a ton of easels, art supplies and notebooks. My room was across from hers and bare aside from a full bed, a dresser, a desk and a ton of boxes.

"I'm beat, night." I say. "And I expect full details of your love live first thing tomorrow!"

"Haha, deal!" Sarah laughs as I shut the door. Of course I have no intentions of sleeping yet. My obsessive-compulsive tendencies demanded that I furnish this room!

Jet black sheets went on the bed along with a black and white striped duvet. All of my electronics found their place on or within the desk and I sorted all of my clothes into the dresser except those than needed to be hung up. I would try to buy a clothes rack tomorrow. Satisfied with only several boxes left unpack, I pealed off the jeans and plain black tee I wore and my black high top converse. I fell into the clean sheets and didn't resurface until morning.

**No Dan/Phil yet but** **I promise they're on their way ;)**


	2. Contingence

Sunlight stream through the windows that covered the entire east wall. I needed curtains. I desperately attempted to hold onto my dream in which I was helping Frodo teach Sam to swim but it was a lost cause. I was fully awake. With I sigh I rolled straight from the bed to the floor and forced myself to walk over to the "clothes I don't have room for because I own too many" pile. I put on a pair of black skinnys and a Forever21 long sleeve purple top. I had to do my makeup in the bathroom, something I hated to do when I had to share it with other people. Growing up with three brothers teaches you those sort of things. I needed a vanity and added that to my list. A touch of liquid eyeliner, mascara and blush for my ridiculously pale face and I was set. I brushed my hair and it fell straight down my back. I found some mismatching socks and put on my combat boots and leather jacket, grabbed my purse and made my way to the kitchen. Sarah sat on a barstool at the island, scribbling in a notebook.

She eyed my outfit with approval and I smirked. I'd never quite grown out of the 'punk' faze we'd had in 10th grade. "Leaving?" She asked without pausing in her writing.

"Planning on it, unless you want to spill about Jake."

A devious grin crossed her features and she pushed her writing aside. "Isn't he gorgeous?"

"Hell yeah, and that accent!"

"Honey, you do know that you live in London now?"

I laughed. It felt so good to laugh together again. "Yeah, yeah. So how'd you guys meet?"

She told me every minute detail about how he was a local artist that she ran into in an art shop. They'd talked about her painting hobby and he demanded to see her work, among other things. Apparently they'd been 'together' but they weren't 'together' if you catch my drift. In any event, it seemed like it was going somewhere and I was happy for her.

She grins and returns to the notebook once the saga of her love life is over.

"I'm going shopping!" I announce and she responds by tossing me a flat key. "Thanksloveyoubye!" I shout and put in my earbuds as I walk. I had no qualms about wandering a city I'd never been to. In fact, I was glad for the chance to be alone. I hummed along to Mayday Parade as I somehow found a shop that sold furniture and accessories that wouldn't make me go broke. I'd converted all of my money to pounds in America, so I was set as far as payment. I talked to a cashier about having a clothing rack, curtains and small vanity sent to the flat. I paid and promised myself that I'd get a job soon.

I would be fine working in a shop, like I said I don't have a long-term plan. I make Youtube videos but it's not like I'm very popular, nor do I have a partnership. I was happy with my 30,000 subscribers who liked to see my fail on the internet. I knew that I would have a part in Sarah's films as both an actor and an editor as I have a knack with video editing. Yet some extra cash flow would be great.

It sprinkled lightly as I walked but I liked the rain. When I was 13 my family had taken a vacation in Ireland and I instantly fell in love with the rain. Europe felt like home.

On my way back, I stopped at a Starbucks who's exterior seemed somehow familiar, like I'd seen it in a movie or video or something. It was warm and dry inside, perfect for the October morning. I ordered my usual caramel macchiato and waited for my drink. I observed the people who came in and out, some were happy, some were sad. They stepped through the door and out of it, briefly skimming their existence with mine and I marveled at how many lives could touch but not connect. That's the thing about cities, they're full of people but they're incredibly lonely.

I had always thought of cities as hell-holes as a kid. I was raised on a farm, how was I to know? At about 16, however I'd had enough and I wasn't a blond-haired, rosy-cheeked tom boy anymore. I fell in love with the hub bub of urban culture, with the people that I could endlessly observe, with the smell and sights and, _the shopping._ I had made the right decision in coming here, that I knew.

"Kate." I stood up to get my order and glanced sideways at a boy at the register. His back was to me as he paid for his drink. I couldn't help but notice his height as what Sarah called my 'cute boy alert' went off. Yet... something about that black jacket, the chocolate hair.

"Thanks." He said and the familiarity in his voice made everything click._ Oh. My. God. _

I refused to fangirl. No wonder this placed seemed familiar. It was the Starbucks right by Dan and Phil's apartment and Daniel Howell was right next to me. _I'm dreaming. _


	3. Acquaintance

I would've just taken my drink and left but not now, not when my inspiration and internet idol was right there. I sat at a small table by the window and alternated between watching the rain and watching Dan. I hoped he hadn't saw me but I was sort of hardcore staring. It's not like I was the kid of fangirl who was head over heels in love with someone that they'd never met, I just had a lot of respect for Dan and Phil for that matter. Although if I was being honest I did think that Phil was absolutely adorable.

Dan and Phil were the reason I started on Youtube. I loved them both, their humor, their style, their stupid, perfect faces. I'd seen all of their videos but I'd never met them in person. I didn't understand the people that freaked out about it either (like that girl who liked Phil's face). I mean, they're just people. Sure they had millions of subscribers but that didn't make them gods or anything. I was content to simply see Dan in person although a part of me wanted to at least let him know his influence on my life.

I can't say that it didn't take nerve to approach him but I managed to without doing something stupid. I might've even been graceful. Maybe. In any event, I slide into the empty chair across from Dan and he smiled as he saw me.

"Hello?" He asked in a somewhat confused yet polite way.

Forcing my awkwardness aside I replied, "Hey." He always talked about it but up until now I'd never realized just how uncomfortable Dan was in social situations. But that probably had something to do with the total stranger who was talking to him. He probably thought that I was either A) Hitting on him or B) a fan. "So, uh, you're danisnotonfire." Yes, well done Kate, that sounded intelligent.

A bemused smile crossed his face. "A fan then?"

"Yeah." I smiled sheepishly, I couldn't deny it. "I just wanted to tell you that, uh, you've been a huge inspiration to me, I guess."

He must've expected me to want a photo or something because he looked surprised. "Thank you, I guess."

I laughed despite myself. "I mean that because of you and Phil, I started vlogging and it's been a really great experience so thank you." I sounded horribly cheesy but it was true.

"Dan." His order is called and he holds up one finger as he gets his double espresso and sits back down.

"You're welcome then, glad to know I'm not completely useless."

I roll my eyes. "If the teenage fangirls could hear you now!" He laughs and it's a sound that's better in person.

"What's your Youtube about, then?" I couldn't believe we were engaging in conversation! I gave myself a mental pat on the back.

"It's pretty typical. Fangirling over television, being lazy and unproductive."

"You fit right in!" He jokes and pushes a napkin towards me. "You have a pen?" I nod and retrieve one from my purse. "What's your username?"

I write down CatherinetheGreat and suddenly feel nervous. He wants to see my videos? What if he thinks that they're terrible?

"I'll check you out when I get home." A second passes and he chuckles, "God, that sounded wrong."

I just laugh. "You do that and leave a comment so I know you're not lying!"

"Will do...?"

"Kate." I finish for him and he gives me a little salute and leaves the coffee shop. What a morning.

**A/N: I promise this is still a Phil/OC I'm just setting up the plot! Also I actually am CatherinetheGreat on Youtube if you want to check me out;)**


	4. Inquisition

Everything seemed to go wrong on the way home. As soon as I left Starbucks, it began to really rain. Big wet droplets splattered the pavement as well as my head, chilling me to the bone. Once inside the building, I found that the elevator was out and I was forced into physical exertion by taking the stairs. At 6E, my key jammed in the lock and Sarah wasn't home.

I struggled to pull the offending object out of the lock but it wouldn't budge. I slid down the wall and texted Sarah _where are you?_.

I kicked the door a few more times and eventually gave up and just played Candy Crush while I waited for Sarah to respond.

"DAMMIT" I hadn't meant to yell but I'd lost to the chocolate, again.

"Whoa there, little violent aren't we?" I practically fly into the air as I locate the origin of this voice. Jake. As much as it pains me to say it, he positively swaggers over to me."Sarah home?"

I raise an eyebrow as if to say "are you kidding me?" and point towards where my key is hopelessly stuck.

"Guess not then." He chuckles and rips the object from the lock. "This one's faulty for whatever reason. She gave it to me a few months back and had to make a different copy, wonder why she didn't throw it away." Well this was new information. A few months? They had just been casually fucking for a few months? And if he had his own key why was he waiting in the hallway last night? Questions zipped through my mind and suddenly I felt the need to protect my friend. Jake, get ready for an interrogation.

"Got that copy on ya?" I asked; I was as cordial and innocent as could be. What else could I make him tell me?

He procured a small silver key and soon we were inside with the faulty one in the bin. Rubbish bin. I was making a point to adopt this culture. Rubbish bin.

"So how long have you known Sarah?" I asked as I set about making some tea, I was frozen and tired and tea sounded like a godsend. "Fancy a cuppa?" I added in a poorly done accent.

It made him laugh. Good, people with senses of humor usually aren't serial killers. Usually. "Couple months, we met in an art shop."

When he didn't divulge anymore I continued questioning. "And what'd you think of her?"

"Is this the Spanish Inquisition or can I have some tea?" His tone lacked sarcasm and his voice startled me, not for the first time today.

"I just don't want to see her get hurt."

The look he gave me could only be described as pity, as if I had no idea what I was talking about, as if I couldn't possibly protect anyone. All at once I started to tell him to get out, the kettle started squealing and my phone vibrated. I gave him a scalding look, turned off the stove and read a message that said _WHY ELEVATOR WHY! _

Jake got up to leave and I watched him awkwardly maneuver around Sarah as she came through the door. He didn't say a word, only sent a glare my way.

"The hell was that about?" Sarah asked while removing her black military-style jacket.

"I don't like him."

"What? You said he was hot. I like him."

"He's a prick and I don't like him."

I made my tea and retreated to my bedroom, ignoring Sarah's questioning looks. I didn't even want to tell her about Dan now, I was furious and tired and still wearing my cold, wet clothing. I changed into a chunky sweater and leggings and brushed out my hair. The northern wall of the room was completely bare but also was fully exposed to the windows and I decided that it was positively perfect to vlog in front of. I hung up my Avengers poster, Adventure Time poster and various fan drawing to spice it up. I finished off my tea and grabbed my notebook.

After joking down a few quick talking points, I set up my tripod and camera and removed the lamp shade from the light by my bed. I couldn't quite afford umbrella lights yet but they were on my 'sort of necessary items' list.

"Hey there, it's Kate!" I say to the camera with a wave. "Broadcasting to you FROM LONDON! I just flew in yesterday and I've already had multiple adventures untold... until now." When I edit this, there'll be a dramatic sound effect there. "This is the story of a girl," I sing this part "who met an internet star, defended her friends honor and got mistaken as a tourist about 17 times."

I describe Jake and shopping in London and how loud it is and how many siren interrupt my filming. "And the moment you've all been waiting for... my encounter with danisnotonfire. So I'm in Starbucks and I look up and there he is and we talked for a bit and he agreed to look at my videos. So, in twenty four hours or less I have fulfilled many people's life dreams. I got to play good cop/ bad cop with my friends not-boyfriend. I moved to an iconic city and toured it. And I met an internet star. Who knows, maybe by my next video I'll be the queen and have all wasps eradicated. I should not be allowed..."

I do my outro and turn off my camera. Editing takes a while but I have the video on Youtube before dinner, at which time I realize that all I've had today was Starbucks. Sarah makes spaghetti and I avoid bringing up Jake, rather I babble about Harry Potter for an hour and she happily converses with me about fan theories in which Snape is actually Harry's father.

As I settle in for bed, I check responses to my new video and just about scream at what I see.

danisnotonfire commented on your video

Amazingphil liked your video

**A/N: I love all of you so much! I had no idea that I would get this kind of response, so thank you to all of those who review/favorite :) Get ready because our favorite boys are on their way;)**


	5. Communication

Aside from flipping my laptop over and having my jaw literally drop, I remained relatively calm. Calm meaning that I didn't injury myself or anyone else. I launched off of my bed to do a happy dance around my room and I was almost too excited to go actually read the comment. I gave myself a minute to collect myself and returned to the computer. From my email, I opened the link to Youtube, purposefully not reading the comment left by Dan. Once on the video's page, I paused myself doing the video intro and slowly scrolled down.

There it was in simple print:

_Your videos are really good. I may or may not have spent all day watching them and drinking Starbucks._

He'd actually done it. He'd watched my videos and _liked _them. I was over the moon. There were hundred of other comments saying how cool it was that I lived in London or how they wished that they could meet Dan. There was also a massive shitstorm in regards to Dan's comment. Most of them were _I ship it _or _nothng coms betwen phan _or _omg dan your perfect. _I ignored all of them and responded to some that we're actually intelligent and went to my channel. I'd gained several thousand subscribers due to both Dan and Phil. I wished that Phil had said something but perhaps I needed my ovaries. I had a ton of private messages that I didn't want to deal with but I checked them anyway.

The majority of them were dribble. While I loved my fans, they often had poor grammar and not much to say. I was about to close the tab and go fangirl at Sarah when a certain message caught my eye, In wonder I clicked on it and read:

_Hey, Dan made me watch all of your videos and he's right; they're really good. I was wondering if you'd like to do a collab with me, it might gain you a bit of subscribers and I think I'm due for one! Let me know! ~AmazingPhil_

I typed out a reply before I even realized what I was doing.

_Thank you so much, I really appreciate that you guys would put that time into watching my videos and that you like them! I would love to do a video with you! Text me the details? ###-#### _(phone number)

As soon as I hit send, I shot out of my room and straight into Sarah.

"Jesus, walk much?" Yeah she was pissed at me. She had a right to be, I guess. I've been here for a whole day and done everything but talk to her. Guilt flooded me and I pushed Phil to the middle of my mind as I could just forget what had transpired.

"Sorry. For uh, everything I guess. I had no right to say that about Jake."

She shot me an incredulous look. "I was only joking but thanks." She was completely sincere. "It's fine. Hey, I've thought some of your exs are dicks before."

"Yeah me too." I laugh and I know that we're okay.

"We should tour the city tomorrow and I'll give you proper instructions on how to be a Londoner." She grins infectiously. This means that she's planning something and whatever it is, I'm probably going to hate it.

"I don't trust you but that a fabulous idea." She glares at me for saying fabulous because of how I enunciate the fab. Whatever, I'm fabulous. More to the point, I need to tell her about the thing. "Come here."

"What?" I drag her into my room, which would've been hilarious to someone watching because she's so much taller than me yet I'm forcibly hauling her around. "What are you doing?"

"Secret." I say and click the tab labeled Youtube. I wordlessly point to Dan's comment and she lets out a piercing shriek.

"No. No. Oh my god. No. That's so freaking awesome!" I just grin and show her Phil's message. "What the fuck?! How on earth did this happen. Literally every fangirls' dream is happening to you. I. What. Explain."

I laugh and tell her about my day and Dan and Youtube and she yells at me for not telling her earlier.

"I didn't know if it would amount to anything, he might not have planned on watching me at all!"

"So you would've just not mention that "Oh yeah, I saw danisnotonfire today"."

"I would've told you!"

"Whatever, I'm freaking out too much right now to care, has Phil texted you?"

I hadn't even checked. I rummaged through my purse until I found my phone which had a text message from an unknown number.

I just looked up at Sarah who's eyes had gone wide. "You lucky bastard." She whispered.

I read the text and saved the number.

_Hey, it's Phil (you know from Youtube). Not to sound too eager but do you think we could meet tomorrow to plan the video? I'm free in the morning if you wanted to meet at Starbucks for coffee or something._

_Hey Phil! Tomorrow sounds perfect, I'll see you there around 9?_

He replies, _Yeah, see you!_

I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face as I lay down that night. Then an idea occurred to me and I went on twitter.

_What should I do as a collaboration with an anonymous British Youtuber? _

I'd let the followers decide and talk about it with Phil. Morning couldn't come fast enough.

**A/N: Dun dun dun. I'm excited, are you excited? I'm jealous of myself right now. Thank you to everyone who reads and reviews, I love you xoxo**


	6. Establishment

There was a unanimous twitter decision as to what we should do in the collab: talk about the difference between the US and England. I was honestly a little disappointed in my followers because that seemed overdone and boring. I'm sure Phil and I would find a way to make it interesting.

Twitter had also blown up that the tweet, thinking that I'd met Dan due to his comment on my last vlog. I decided not to reveal the mysterious Youtuber and let the subscribers be surprised.

I was incredibly nervous that morning as I got ready. I mean, this was _Phil. Amazing Phil. _If I had a favorite Youtuber, he was it. That was my dream. I wanted to stress out about what I would say or do but I needed to calm down and be cool about this. This was not my time to fangirl, I was on the other side of the camera now. I picked out a simple white tank top and grey cardigan to go with my jeans and Chucks. I brought my camera along, making the decision to vlog on the way and show the people of the internet my new home.

Sarah said that she'd meet me after I'd had my 'meeting' with Phil. Sounds so professional. Anyway, we were going to go sight-seeing and she planned on introducing me to a bunch of her friends who were artists and actors and the like. It wasn't really my scene but I wasn't going to complain.

We walked in the morning rain to Starbucks, she would shop around for a bit while she waited, although I promised that I'd introduce them first. She loved Dan, I knew but would take Phil nonetheless. I aimed my camera at my face and turned it on.

"Hey there, it's Kate! London. LoNdOn. LONDON. loNDON. I pointed the lens at random object whilst saying "London" in a British accent and did the rest of the video that way. Sarah rolled her eyes at me and I stuck my tongue out at her.

"Why again do you like this one?" She asked to the camera.

"Your the one who invited me to live with you." I sing song and shut off the camera, intending to continue on the walk back. We've approached the coffee establishment and there are butterflies in my stomach. I push the door open, trepidation has made my palms sweaty. Why am I so damn nervous? I practically sigh out of relief when I see that he's not there yet. I am three minutes early. I order my caramel macchiato and ask them to write CatherineTheGreat on the cup. Aren't I so hipster?

I sit by the window, people watching yet again. At exactly nine o'clock a tall, black hair boy walks in and up the the register. He turns around, eyes scanning the shop and spots me by the window. A smile lights up his face that's as pale and mine and he does that tongue-in-teeth smile and waves. I grin back yet on the inside I'm screaming.

My order is ready but before I get up he brings it back for me. AmazingPhil is sitting across from me. I refuse to let myself be awkward, ready Kate? Ready set go.

"Hey." Cha ching well played genius, well played.

"Hi." He's still smiling at me like that and it's infectious. I realize just how strange this is. We've seen each other's faces, home's, friends, interests, highs and lows and yet we're speaking for the first time. It was like meeting a character from a book who's life you knew all about. We could probably tell each other the other's middle name or favorite food without ever having had a conversation. I felt like a very old friend was there and in a way, he was.

"It's strange isn't, how we already know each other." I say before silence can creep in.

"The internet is magical, yeah." Neither of us have stopped smiling and dammit do I love his new haircut.

"So, I tweeted last night what my followers wanted to see and they chose something excessively boring." I show him a snapshot of twitter replies on my phone.

"Yes, that's never been done before!."

"Have any better ideas?"

He pursed his lips as he thought and my inner fangirl was overy-less. "Yes, actually. How about we critique each other's first vlog."

"That's actually a really good idea!"

"Condition: you have to speak in a British accent the entire time!" He grins mischeviously. Little does he know, my accent is flawless.

"Deal. So we post the critiques to respective channels?"

"Sounds good, when would you like to film it? I'm free basically all the time now that conventions and things have died down."

"Yeah, anytime, I've yet to find a job." That was something I seriously needed to work on but come on, Phil vs. job, who do you think wins?

His response was unexpected. "Why don't you do Youtube fulltime, you're really good!" Heat flushed my cheeks. "I mean it!"

"Well, thank you." I say modestly. I realize that hardly any time has passed since Phil came in as his coffee is just being called. As he returns to the table I see that his name is 'AmazingPhil'. "Can I go hipster on you for a moment?" He looks confused until I line up our drinks with our usernames side by side and take a picture. Confusion is followed by laughter and we lapse into easy conversation. He asks how I got into Youtube and I tell him about my love of Youtubers and that he actually inspired a lot of my channel. Somehow we end up on the subject of childhood stories. I tell him about my near-death experience in my Grandma's woods and he give me the full version of the dead rabbit story.

It gets to the point where our laughter is beginning to get disruptive so we go outside and stroll around the streets of London, sharing stories and building bonds.

**A/N: I know it's been forever it's just been one hell of a week. I won't give you a bunch of excuses but I will give you a bunch of hugs if you review. Also, I have an actual youtube channel, CatherineTheGreat and I post new videos every Wednesday! oxox**


	7. Delectation

Phil and I exchanged phone numbers and said goodbye for now. We decided to film the videos sometime within the next week. We stood on an empty street corner near the Chinese restaurant where I was meeting Sarah for lunch.

"I'll call you then, Kate." The way that his accents shaped my name into an unfamiliar sound made my heart accelerate.

"Yeah, bye Phil." Unexpectedly, he gathered me up into his arms. Our height difference was suddenly evident but not uncomfortable. He gave me a signature smile as he pulled away and walked off to do Phil-things. I waved and he waved back. I fought to control myself until I was within the doors of the restaurant. In the small room between the outside doors and the dinning area, I allowed a smile to play across my face. I had just had a perfectly amicable, ordinary time with _Phil Lester._ In a way we were like colleagues and he respected my work and enjoyed my company. I was walking on air, _again._

Sarah waved me to a both in the corner and I grinned sheepishly for being late. We ate rice and sesame chicken as I divulged the events of the morning.

"So the first date with your future husband was a success?" Sarah winked playfully.

"Shut up!"

"What, is he not as perfect in person?" She wiggled her eyebrows at me.

"I could say those things when I was a love-struck teenagers but I'm a professional." I said in a joking manner. "We are highly regarded intellectuals and I refuse to stoop to a fangirling obsession."

Sarah laughed right out loud and several people turned to look at us. The minute I looked back at Sarah we both lost it. The weight of moving and internet stars and money and the like lifted then and I wiped happy tears from my eyes.

"I'm so glad I moved here."

"Me too. Me too."

x~*~x

The two of us walked all over the iconic city, going to every tourist trap and well known location. Of course due to our accents everyone thought we really were tourists. Just after Sarah took a photo of me that made it look like I was holding up the London Eye, I abandoned all American fluency and spoke in poor, broken French that had us both laughing again. We met a middle aged man who _was _speaking French that tried to carry on a conversation with us that resulted in us collapsing into giggles and hurrying away.

I'd needed a day like this with friends. Could I consider Phil a friend? We'd gotten on well. Yes, a perfect day with friends and I was happier than I'd been in a long time.

x~*~x

The next couple of days I spent making myself at home in the apartment and going out with Sarah to meet her artistic and sophisticated friends. When we decided that they were boring, we hung out with the band of film geeks that turned out to be some of the coolest people I'd ever met. They quickly accepted me and I found out that a few of them were actually fans of mine. We started working out a script and I volunteered to play a role. There was a short film competition coming up around Christmas time and I was eager to be a part of it.

Phil and I had been texting for the past couple of days. He was the kind of person you could hold the most random conversations with. We planned on meeting up at Starbucks on Wednesday and do the filming at his apartment. I was a cool non-fangirling cucumber. I was also a liar.

Sarah was almost as excited as I was and she demanded that I befriend them so that she could met them and marry Dan. This brought us around to a much avoided topic.

I attempted nonchalance which was a failure but I hoped she appreciated the effort. "So, is there any particular reason that you and Jake aren't together or official or whatever?" I could've whistled for added effect but I refrained.

"He's weird with commitment and so am I, I guess. I mean, we're not just friends with benefits, he just hasn't asked me to be his girlfriend."

"Yet? Or do you think he won't?"

Either my question was too direct and touched a nerve or she was being moody because the only answer I got was a shrug.

I wasn't going to let Jake bother me and I wasn't going to worry over my perfectly capable friend. I was going to go to bed and spend tomorrow with a couple of brilliant British boys and attempt to not look like a love-sick puppy.

**A/N: I would like to thank meandmylife, nickyd125, Ana Gray, Katelyn, AmityLee, SpiritedMare and Alice for being flawless! You give me to motivation to write more! NEWS! During Phil's liveshow today HE READ MY NAME! During the first tee shirts contest when he's naming people that became a fan, HE SAYS KATE IT'S LIKE 40 MINS IN HE SAYS IT. So, yeah that made me really want to give you this chapter because I was more excited that I should've been :)**


	8. Exposition

At 8 o'clock in the morning a disheveled and frantic Kate paced her bedroom. She was so distraught, in fact, that she started thinking in third person. _What do I wear? _Everything on my newly-installed clothes racks seemed like I would be trying too hard or too little or the pattern would look bad on camera or would make my completion look bad. I never freaked out about what I wore in my own videos. Yet, today was different. I would be broadcasted to _millions _of people rather than thousands. I. Was. Freaking. Out.

I desperately wanted to get Sarah to come and help me but she would be sleeping until noon as Wednesdays were her day off. Did I want to go with my typical punk-style? Ironic hipster appreciation? Nerdy but cute? Dress down? Why was this such a big deal? Eventually I put on a pair of dark wash jeans and a plain white v-neck. Classic.

I curled my long hair and ate a bowl of Frosted Flakes whilst flipping channels. I didn't know the channel numbers here yet so TV posed a bit of a problem. I had another hour to waste so I logged into tumblr and of course, the time flew by.

At quarter to ten I descended the stairs of our apartment complex, which were excessively steep. On of these days I was sure to go falling down them but this would not be that day.

The mid-morning air hit me as I opened the door and I was shocked to see the sun smiling down on the city. I walked with a spring in my step, listening to Fall Out Boy. I was reminded again of how lonely cities are; how I was surrounded my millions yet I was utterly alone. Each individual in the crowd had their own small bubble which occasionally bumped into other bubbles but it was not a cohesive whole, not like liquid. We were separate from one another, our bubbles floating in the same direction across a pale blue sky.

My thoughts distracted me and I hardly realized I'd reached my destination until I was in front of the coffee shop. It was a fairly unassuming building with simple brickwork and the Starbucks insignia on the windows. Yet, it held something so much bigger than it was. The first time I'd met Dan, a rendezvous point for myself and Phil. Not to mention a much needed caffeine boost to get me through the day.

As I pushed open the door, I spotted Phil in the corner, waving madly. I kept a secret smile for myself and dutifully ignored him. From my peripheral vision I could see his face fall and then a slow smirk cross his features. I tried not to laugh or look at him as I ordered my caramel macchiato. I strolled over to his table to wait for my coffee.

I gaspes as I saw him and said, "Omg you're AmazingPhil! I'm your biggest fan!"

He put on a false grin, "Like an autograph, picture maybe?"

"Actually, I was thinking maybe we could go over to your place?" We were both grinning now.

"Sure, get your coffee and let's go." I was quickly dissolving into laughter and hurried up to the register. Surprisingly, my order was ready as they weren't very busy. I took it and as I looked up I notice a teenage girl sat by the window. She was glaring daggers at me and staring at Phil. I wondered what on Earth could have her so perplexed over a couple of strangers. It then dawned on me that she probably heard our conversation or know who we (more like Phil) were and she might've thought we weren't joking.

"Ready?" Phil asked, lightly touching my elbow to get my attention. The gesture was small put it made my heart accelerate.

"Hmm? Yeah, yeah." He gave me a curious look and headed out of the shop and I followed.

We walked briskly down the pavement ,chatting lightly on the way, enjoying the sun although there was an autumn chill in the air. After a short ways we reached an unassuming door to the flat.

"Casa de la Youtube." I laugh but my amusement is cut short when I see the shear number of stairs we need to climb. Dan really wasn't kidding about this.

"Oh my god. You really weren't kidding in those videos."

He pulls a silly face which warps mine into a smile which seems to be a habit around him. "I would weight a million kilos if it wasn't for them!"

"One way to look at it." I mumble as we begin the climb up and up and up.

Their apartment looks exactly how I'd expected, if not a bit bigger than the videos portrayed. Dan looked up from where he was interneting on the couch and waved. "Hello!"

"Hi Dan!" I say.

"Hey." Phil says at the same time as me.

He gives me a miniature tour which isn't so much a tour as him pointing out cool things to me, like the Marvel pictures, One Directions poster and the hidden wombat.

Lastly we end up in his bedroom to film.

**A/N: Woah did I really update that quickly? Yes, I did ;) I will try to do it again and not keep you waiting!**


	9. AmazingCatherine

"Now that I've got you in the bedroom..." Phil said in some sort of unrecognizable accent. I laughed and rolled my eyes at him. He began rushing around the room, getting the necessary equipment to film. Meanwhile, I sat somewhat awkwardly on the bed and watched him.

All of the filming stuff was much more high tech and expensive than mine and I began wondering if this was a good idea. I felt sub-par compared to Phil who had way more experience at this than me. I chewed on my bottom lip and self doubt began to take over.

"Ready?" That eager, exuberant voice pulled me from my reverie. My fears were instantly gone with one look at Phil's smile. He wouldn't make this weird for me and he treated me like a friend.

I grinned. "Ready."

As discussed, we would do a 'reaction video' to the other's very first video posted to their channel. This would be interesting... for both of us.

Phil smoothed out his classic blue and green bedding and sat cross legged on the left side. I joined him and he adjusted the camera one last time.

"Hi guys!" He did his customary wave to the camera. Phil was positioned so that his body was blocking me from sight. He made an explosion sound and moved away from the camera to reveal me.

"Hey there!" I wave and smile to the hundreds of thousands of people that would watch this.

"Today's special guest is non other than CatherineTheGreat! What do you have to say about this?"

He holds an invisible microphone up to me. "I'd say I'm happy to be here, AmazingPhil."

"And what are we doing today?"

"Mocking each other in front of the internet?"

"Correct!" There would be the "Yayy!" sound here and a cut screen. We readjusted and continued.

"We are going to be watching the other person's first ever YouTube video and making them feel like shit for it right?" I ask.

"Right." Phil says and does that damn tongue thing that makes my insides go all weird. "We'll be doing Kate's first video here and mine on her channel. Here we go."

My video would play in the top corner of the screen once the video was published but for now we watched it on Phil's mac. It was horribly blurry and the sound quality was bad, something our firsts had in common.

Phil started to play the video and we watched...

"Hello! My name is Kate. My channel is called CatherineTheGreat but I would prefer if you called me Kate, everyone does. And I'm looking forward to vlogging with you!" I snapped and pointed at the camera, something that I still did a lot in my videos.

"Awww! You're so tiny! Look at fetus Kate!" Phil said and continued to watch. "You're not even awkward or anything it's like you just knew how to vlog."

16 year old me continues to ramble on the camera and Phil makes funny comments on the bad quality and the difference between the me on the screen and the me now.

"How did you film it anyway?" He asks through laughter.

"Well I used a webcam that I bought from China for four dollars that I then stepped on sooo."

We continue like this for the next four minutes and at one point we're laugh so hard I just about fall off of the bed. Of course this redoubles our laughter and it takes a moment for us to compose ourselves.

"And that is what can happen in five years, you go from an awkward teenager to an awkward adult who has slightly more subscribers." I say as we begin the outro to the video.

"Growing up 0/10 would not recommend."

I laugh at his comment, "Well this has been fun." and turn back to the camera.

"My turn?" Phil asks with a hint of fear in his voice.

"To watch Phil get brutally murdered go to my channel, CatherineTheGreat, there's a link in the dooblydo and I hope you've enjoyed!" I say with a cheesy smile.

At the same time Phil says, "Murder?" and I move to strangle him and he makes choking sounds. After a moment I release him and he gets up to turn off the camera.

"Success!" I pump my fist in the air and fall against the bed.

"Would you like something before you brutally murder me? Tea perhaps?"

"Tea sounds fantastic." I say and follow him into the kitchen. This was turning out to be really fun and I liked Phil, he was genuinely nice and I hoped that we would become friends. I was a little nervous about how the Phillions would take the video but it was done and the majority of me was excited.

Phil but on the kettle and opened a cupboard to reveal boxes on boxes of tea. Those darn Brits. "Any preference?"

"Green tea would be great. One sugar." I took a seat at the bar and we lightly chatted while the water boiled.

"I think that went pretty well. I thought it was funny, at least."

"Yeah defiantly." I reply. I was trying to keep up with the conversation, I really was but I was zoning out again.

"Everything okay?" His voice was laced with concern.

"Yeah, I just... I don't know." I look down and begin chipping away at my nail polish. "It's just you're pretty famous and there's a lot of people out there who could dislike me." I felt whiny for saying it but Phil didn't call me out on it. Instead, he was reassuring.

"Don't worry I'm sure they'll love you. How could they not?"

The kettle let out a screech and I jumped up to help with the tea to avoid having to respond, or to have Phil see me blushing.


	10. PhilTheGreat

We collect our tea and head back to Phil's room to finish our collaboration. I balance his Mac on my knees as I sip my tea. I find his very first video and get it ready to watch during the filming. I set the laptop aside and put my camera on the tripod so that all of the files will be on my SD card. We get everything adjusted and start rolling. This time I block Phil from the camera.

"Hey there, it's Kate here!" I smile sweetly and wave and then turn a creepy look off camera. "And look at who's house I've broken into to film in!"

Phil moves on screen looking convincingly worried and scared.

"Help meeee!" I pretend to pull out a knife and we hold still as we've decided that there will be a cut screen here. We recenter ourselves and Phil speaks. "Hi Guys! No, there is not a mysterious murder in my house..."

"Just boring ol' me sorry." I say with a laugh. "I'm here with AmazingPhil!" Cue the sound effect of children saying "Yay!". "And now I will be critiquing his first ever vlog." I smile smugly and he rolls his eyes.

"I've just done the same to Kate which you can find here." He points to a space above his head where I will put a link to our other video.

"Ready for this?" I ask.

"To have all of my efforts made fun of and mocked on the internet? Absolutely." I almost felt bad for a moment until we both started laughing and I played his video.

_"Hi I'm Phil, welcome to my video blog which I hope you're all very excited to be a part of."_

"I'm excited, anyone else excited?" I say to the camera.

When Phil sees himself show's his mum's Mother's Day present of screen he face palms himself. I laugh out loud.

I continue to act like an obsessed fangirl, commenting on how cute fetus Phil is ect ect. "YOU SOUND SO NORTHERN." I exclaim about halfway through. "Did you ever go on the slot machines?" I turn to ask him.

"No, I didn't I wasn't legal!"

_"Aww I was going to show you my hat. Oh well. There's a hat. It's exciting. I'll show you a lion instead RAWWWRRR."_

"And thus a legend was born." We laugh and I continue to comment on how he had the most awkward outro ever. The video was an overall success and I hoped that my subscribers would find it funny.

We finished out the video and I never ever murdered Phil, so all in all it was a success.

I help him to take care of his collection of equipment and then somehow we end up watching random YouTube videos. Not even YouTubers, more like the dark corner of the internet you find yourself on at 2am. Apparently he'd never seen the 'Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared' video which is infamous on tumblr. Needless to say, he was really creeped out and questioned my sanity.

"What? I mean why would- what? I can't- you suck." He exclaims when it's over and not for the first time that day do I laugh so hard my sides hurt.

"IT SOUNDS LIKE PEOPLE ARE HAVING FUN IN HERE." Dan appears in the door way, raising an eyebrow at us.

"Kate's trying to kill me."

"Wrong," I say loudly. "I was trying to harvest your organs."

Dan ends up joining us and we explore the magic of the internet together. Ahh what a beautiful picture. After a bit Dan proposes a game of Halo. I should really be getting home but I mean, come on, it's Halo. I was defiantly the sort of girl who play (and kicked ass in) video games. We start a multiplayer game and I go for the boys rather than the opposing team. It isn't until the fourth time it happens that Dan realizes that I'm the one who's been shooting him.

"Why does everyone hate me." He moans as he gets up to get some crisps. While he's gone Phil and I conspire to gang up on him. We resume and Dan is dead within seconds. I end up getting shot next and soon it becomes a battle of who can stay alive the longest. I give up after being shot twice by Phil and once by Dan.

I stick my tongue out at Dan when he gives me a questioning look. I set my controller down and cross my arms.

"Are you pouting?" He asks in disbelief.

"Yes."

He laughs, I laugh, Phil laughs. This has been fun.

"As much as I do love this bloodbath, I should be getting home."

"I'll show you out." Phil jumps up to accompany me. I gather up my things and he walks the many stairs with me. We reach the ground floor and he stops me as I'm about to exit. It's a simple action, really, he only touches my waist, but it makes my heart flutter. "Um," He clears his throat as though he's nervous. "All of our YouTubey friends are coming over here this Friday. You and your friend, Sarah is it? Are welcome to come."

"Okay, thanks I'll tell her. This was really fun Phil, I'm glad you asked me to do this."

"I'm glad too." He gives me a genuine smile. "See you Friday, then?"

"Yeah, see you." I shut the door behind me. A cool wind lifts the hair from my face as I walk home.

**A/N: No, I didn't abandon you! Expect my chapter to be fewer and far between. Advanced classes are a bitch, no to mention running cross country. I will update when I can and I love all of you!**


	11. Intermediate

I awoke the next morning feeling like I'd been hit in the head. The rivulets of golden morning sun we like flaming swords to the eyes and my whole body ached.

After I'd gotten home yesterday, Sarah and I had, well, celebrated. Luckily I edited and uploaded the video while sober but everything thereafter had gotten a little blurry. I was defiantly a lightweight and a few glasses of wine had inflicted some damage.

I showered groggily and made a beeline for the coffee maker, still in my towel. With a warm, steaming cup in my hand and caffeine flowing through my system, I felt much better. I padded back to my room when I heard a distinctly male voice from Sarah's room. I didn't remember anyone coming over last night. I paused at the door and a laugh echoed against the wall. _Jake. _I didn't want to deal with this now. Or ever really.

I turned back to my room and threw on some comfy sweats. I resumed my natural state- sitting cross legged on my bed with the internet open to gmail, tumblr and YouTube. Ahhh yes, the lone Kate in her natural habitat.

My email was flooded with questions about videos, Phil and grown up stuff like payments and such that I liked to pretend didn't exist because I'm actually five years old.

YouTube came next. I whistled the tune of a new Fall Out Boy song and the note died on my lips when I saw my number of subscribers. 150,000. _Whoa. _I was too shocked to be excited yet. I went to the video to see that it had around 100,000 views and loads of comments. There were also quite a few that said something along the lines of "Phate" and "I ship it". Phil's video of us had a lot more views but the comments were more or less the same.

Sarah was obviously a little busy and I needed to tell someone. I couldn't text to the US so I did what needed to be done. I went on Facebook. My friend Sami from New York absolutely adored Dan and sort of watched Phil. I sent her a frantic message with links excessive exclamation marks.

I lay back on my bed and I could hear my heart whooshing in my ears. "I'm walking on sunshine. Whoa oh oh." I sing loudly and off key. My goal wasn't exactly to become internet famous, it never was. It was to do something I enjoyed in an environment that I loved. And if that just so happened to be through the internet then so be it because this felt damn good.

I put on some loud music and just lay there, wondering where to go next. I closed my eyes and waited for inspiration to strike. A few songs later it did and I grabbed the notebook on my nightstand that was reserved for these occasions. I wrote out a screen play for our little filmy group that needed a name and spent the next hour tweaking it. At about 10:30am my phone vibrated and I checked it for the first time that day.

It was Dan. _Umm thanks i guess. did phil invite u for fri?_

I didn't remember texting Dan at all and then I remembered the wine. Hmmm. I went into my sent messages.

_Hey Dan_

_you knoww i sort of haye you for your stupid fACE my friend an i are watching your videos_

Oh god, I am such an idiot. Good, well done, way to be the absolute dumbest drunk texter of the century, Catherine.

_sorry _I type back _you know how you do regretable things that aren't horrible but make you out as an idiot when your drunk? yeah. and yes he did, Sarah and I plan on attending! _

We continued to talk until around lunch, by which type my creativity was dead and the short film forgotten. Sarah, Jake and I enjoyed awkward sandwiches with a side of silent crisps and I-know-you-hooked-up-last-night sodas. I spent the majority of the time trying to pin point why I disliked Jake. He caught me watching him and gave me the disapproving glare that one might give a child. That's it. That's why.

**A/N: I feel like I've failed you. A week of waiting and I give you this flop of a chapter? I know, I'm horrible. I also haven't made a video in 2 weeks. *cries* **


	12. Fruition

"The air was cold on the roof of the London apartment. A chill ran through the air that raised goosebumps on Kate's arms. The full moon hung low in the sky, illuminating the couple on the rooftop.

"Amazing, isn't it? It's so far away, yet it's right there." Nick mused to Kate. The two sat on a picnic blanket, a bottle of wine between them. Kate smiled somewhat shyly. Nick bent his head to look at her better. The couple gravitated towards each other. There was a hair's breath between them when they were startled apart.

"GUYS." Sarah burst open the rooftop door and ran out to them, ignoring the scene she'd walked in on. She quickly set up the strange object that she was carrying. It was a construction paper telescope. "LOOK."

She gestures for the pair to look through the lens into the sky. Both Kate and Nick hesitate and then look.

"It's a UFO!" Kate exclaims, speaking for the first time. Indeed, a construction paper and macaroni noodle flying object is clearly in view of the telescope.

The three people step back as the craft (pun intended?) lands atop the roof. Out step three people.

Both of the girls scream simultaneously and Kate and Nick hold onto one another.

The figures are blurry and are making whirring sounds. The buzzing dies off as the leader appears to fiddle with a device made from legos. As the trio focuses, the humans recoil again.

"Don't be startled." The apparent leader says. She is a perfect replica of Kate, with her hair in pigtails, wearing child's clothing.

"We mean no harm." The other female said. A clone of Sarah, she too wears a child's outfit of a sundress and mary jane's.

"Honestly." The only boy insists when the humans look unconvinced and horrified. He is Nick's identical twin in the clothing of a young boy's.

"What are you?" Kate ventures, releasing Nick's hand.

"What a silly question." Her young clone replies.

* * *

"Eureka!" I exclaim as I hit save in Microsoft Word.

Sarah pokes her head around the doorway. "Finished?"

"Finally!" I pick up my phone and send a quick text. "Nick will be here tomorrow to go over it."

"I bet it's great but we have to go." Sarah says, waving her phone with the time displayed in my face.

For the past couple of hours I'd been pacing my room, typing and racking my brain for film ideas for the contest. Our little group which needed a name appointed me in charge of drafting the first screenplay. Sarah, Nick and I were going to do all of the acting and Damion and Frankie (a girl) would direct and take care of props, ect. We were going for science fiction/horror and I think I'd done it quite well with the script so far. Tomorrow we would work on it further. However, we were going to be late to Dan and Phil's because it had taken hours for creativity to strike.

Sarah helps me throw on a nice top and jeans while I braid my hair on the way down the stairs. I tripped twice and ended up having to redo it.

I didn't know whether to be scared of nervous or excited or yes. There were going to be so many people there that I'd looked up to for years and now I got to hang out with them. I smiled to myself and thanked God that this had all happened. Some people don't get opportunities to fulfill their dreams. I had and it felt amazing. I never wanted to forget this feeling of anticipation and disbelief. Everything I'd worked for had paid off and this moment, right here, on a street corner in London, was a turning point. I could feel it, like I knew that no matter what happens, this decision was worth it.

Whatever tonight would be like, I was ready for it.

Sarah looked like she'd seen a ghost, however. It was like when you were waiting in line to get on a rollercoaster because you're excited and you know that it's going to be awesome but you're still scared shitless. I was counting on her not to scream or ask everyone for hugs but she still might. In any event, she too got to meet a bunch of her 'internet idols'. It was a big night for both of us.

The walk to the guy's apartment wasn't horribly far but I was wishing that I had a thicker coat by the time we reached their door. I quickly texted Phil, _We're here._

Moments later, he opened the door and ushered us inside. "Just about everyone's here. There's pizza upstairs."

"Fantastic." I say and we make the climb of infinite stairs to the living room.

Dan, Chris, PJ, Carrie, a couple other YouTubers and some people I don't recognize are scattered around the flat. Phil introduces us and I leave Sarah and Phil to get acquainted while I approach Dan. He and PJ are sitting on the couch and we quickly start talking about the short film contest and my idea for it. He absolutely loves it and insists that he can come watch us film it.

Carrie and I talk about books and Chris makes me laugh for minutes on end and by the end of the night everyone's number is in my phone and I feel like a part of something.

Sarah is not being incredibly awkward and makes conversation and is talking to a girl who's name is Olivia. Phil and I sit side by side on the couch. A few people remain but most everyone has left by now. Dan is just past the point of being tipsy and is telling horribly inappropriate jokes.

"So... what'd you think?" Phil bumps my arm and smiles.

"I've had a great time." I say truthfully. "Your friends are awesome."

"Welllll, we'll just have to do this again."

"Defiantly." In the lull of conversation, my eyelids droop. It's pretty late.

"See you later!" Olivia calls from the doorways as she makes her way out. It's only the four of us now.

"After party!" Dan calls weakly but he, too is falling asleep.

Phil rolls his eyes. "I'll walk you out."

Sarah, like the cunning friend that she is, walks out the door in front of us and waits outside. Dan snores loudly in the background.

You would have to be pretty unobservant to not have know this yet, but I liked Phil. A lot. I had no idea how he felt about me, though. We hovered just above the stairs as neither of us seemed to want to move. He fussed with his hair and avoided looking at me.

"Dan's going to be hungover and grumpy tomorrow and I'm not going to have anyone to hang out with." Phil sighs theatrically.

"Well, how do you plan to remedy that?"

He does that tongue-smile that makes me want to punch a wall. "Movie marathon?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"Great, see you around 2ish?"

"I will be here." I say and he pulls me into his arms as though it's an impulse. The hug ends a moment after it should have and turn to descend the stairs.

"See you." He calls after me.

"See you!" I yell back over my shoulder.

**A/N: I know. I know. I'm sorry blahh blahh I don't update often blahhhhhhh**


	13. Ignition

"UgGggGhhhgHHghghHghHHHHHHHHH." I moaned as I lay on the couch, laptop in my (get this) lap. I begrudgingly scrolled through job wanted ads while simultaneously throwing a hissy fit. Being an adult had never been my strong point.

Sarah looked up at me from the stove where she was concocting some sort of horrendous dish that smelled both like fish and charcoal. "If you don't want to get a real job like a real person in the real world you could just be paid to internet." I raise a skeptical eyebrow at her. "I mean it, you have enough of a fan base now, just get a YouTube partnership."

"You know what, I think I will."

* * *

_Ding _

I ring the doorbell to the flat that is becoming increasingly familiar. Phil buzzes me in and I ascend the stairs alone. I arrive in their kitchen to find a smell much better than the one that pervaded mine. Someone's made lasagna and brownies and they look and smell _fantastic_. A head pokes around the doorway to the kitchen.

"Is it alright for dinner?" Phil inquires hopefully.

"Alright? Better than alright, I'd say." This earns me a grin and Phil comes fully into the kitchen, checking everything over.

"Sorry I couldn't come down to let you in." He says as he cleans up the counter. "There's a certain friend of my mine who's been unbearable all day and needed coffee." He rolls his eyes. "Honestly, he milks it for all he's worth." Though Phil's tone hold resentment, there's a hint of laughter in his eyes. He's not really mad at Dan, I realize. The two of them remain be a great deal of the characters Jem and Will from the _Infernal Devices. _I supposed that if it were real, the two would be parabati.

"Kate?" The gentle voice invaded me thoughts, saying my name like it was a question. Phil's lips held a bemused smile.

"Hmmm?"

"I asked what film you wanted to see." Oh. Apparently I'd zoned out.

"Well..." I stride into the living room, plopping down in front of the TV center. Scratch that- the _tellie._ "How about something funny? Can't go wrong with comedy."

"Couldn't agree more. But what about a classic?"

"Both?" I ask.

His eyes light up and I surmise that he must've thought of the perfect film. Phil reaches around me to pluck it off the shelf. I'm still sitting on the floor and he's standing bent over behind me. I can feel his hot breath on my neck as his body is practically flush against mine. Then all too soon, he's gone. I am left completely witless as I try to figure out what just happened. In the interim, Phil's put the DVD in and the opening credits begin to roll.

"_The Princess Bride_?I love this movie!" He grins as if he already knew and we sit at opposite ends of the couch. The singular cushion that separates us feels like a thousand miles.

**A/N: Short, I know, part two will be coming tomorrow! I was feeling so discouraged because I thought I hadn't gotten any new reviews... turns out Gmail put them all in spam and I HAD A TON I LOVE YOU ALL IM SORRY I EVER DOUBTED YOU.**


	14. Slumber

Neither knew how it happened. Yet, as the movie progressed, between fits of laughter Kate and Phil found themselves gravitating towards the central cushion. Kate likes third person.

_The Princess Bride _had to be one of my favorite movies of all time and the fact that it was Phil's as well put a goofy smile on my face. I loved that we had so much in common; we never ran out of topics. After the end credits played we continued to quote some of the memorable lines.

"My name in Indigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to pick out another film." I say is a cheesey accent.

"You wish to leave the choosing to me? Very well, I accept." I roll my eyes and laugh as he gets off the couch to fix our lack of movie. I'm startled by how close he was. At some point we must have moved towards one another. My stomach does a flippy thing. "Quick, what's your favorite Disney movie?" Phil calls, his head bent over an extensive collection of discs. His ebony hair falls down over his face, obscuring his eyes.

"Mulan!" Its no question, Mulan is the greatest Disney movie ever.

"Mulan it is."

"I warn you," I say teasingly. "I'll be singing it for the rest of the day."

"We can do a duet." He says as he resumes the spot beside me, even closer than before.

I sing along under my breath during "Be a Man" and I know that he's smiling at me but does not hold up his promise to sing with me. I laugh when its over and poke him in the ribs. "How 'bout that duet?"

His eyes are an endless blue, full of mirth as he just shrugs. Its a simple action that is so endlessly cute that I think I want to scream. He looks back to the screen while I realize with a jolt just how much I adore Phil Lester. A heat engulfs my face and I turn away, hoping he won't notice the red of my cheeks.

We eat dinner after _Mulan _and Dan joins us. He looks fine but doesn't act his usual self. He says that he's been playing GTA V all day and I don't doubt him, judging by his distant demeanor. It was the look of someone who was still in a fantasy world... I could relate. While I wasn't a huge video game nerd, I enjoyed certain games from time to time.

As expected, the lasagna was delicious, only to be topped by the brownies afterword. I suggested that I be heading home but Phil heartily disagreed, claiming that there was one film still left to see.

This time he went on Netflix. "Okay, so this is a game to pick out the next one. If it's a film, we watch it. If its a show, we watch the first two episodes. Pick a word out of a hat," He procured a hat from the back of the entertainment centre. "and that's what goes into the search bar. The first thing that comes up gets watched."

That actually sounds kind of ingenious. "Okay." He held the hat, a sock monkey, out to me and I plucked the first slip of paper off the top and read it. "Tree. Really, you couldn't be more original?" I chuckle and he puts 'tree' into the search bar.

We end up watching "Happy Tree Friends", an entertaining albeit disturbing animation about fluffy animals being slaughtered. If you're scared by that just go watch it. Yeah.

After that decidedly bad idea we just leave the TV on with Spongebob playing. This whole evening had been incredibly childish in our selections, except for you know, massacre.

The sun had long set and I could feel my eyelids drooping. We were side by side on the couch now, my head on his shoulder, the rest of my body angled to lay on the couch. Sleep encompassed me gratefully the last thing I remembered was Phil brushing a stray strand of hair away from my face.


	15. Confliction

At some point in the night, I am roused by a movement beside me. Groggily, I open my eyes but all that is reveal is a swath of blue. My foggy brain tries to adjust its self but all I can think of it how my coverlet is not blue. At some point my brain and senses synchronize and I realize that I am not in my bed at all. It's colder wherever I am and that blue is somehow attached to a human being. The last remnants of sleep leave me with a jolt and suddenly I am lucid and alert. I remember falling asleep practically on top of Phil, who is moving and the cause of my awakening. The aforementioned blue tee shirt clings to his skin and I realize that he must be having a nightmare.

"Phil..." I whisper, afraid to wake him but also afraid to let him be. I was always wary about waking people up: I was afraid that they would lash out or retaliate in their surprise. However the man who I've only know for a short time is not that kind of person. And besides, he obviously is in distress. "Phil." I insist in his ear and nudge him with my shoulder. I prop myself on my elbow to better see his face. He's sweating. "Phillip, the pancakes are almost ready!" I say right into his ear and his eyelids flutter open.

His reaction is so comical that I have to clap my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing. I sit up, perched cross-legged on the small expanse of couch that is not currently occupied by my confused companion.

"Pancakes?" He draws the word out slowly like he's tasting it. His voice is scratchy from sleep and he looks disoriented. I'm struck by what an odd, attractive sight it is to see him so vulnerable but cute. His eyes find mine in the dark and I can't tell where the bewilderment in them comes from; the nightmare or my lack of pancakes.

He is a Phil that the internet hasn't ever seen, bogged down by nightmares but breaking through them with a childlike innocence. The moment feels intimate with just the two of us on a couch in a London flat, unaware of the rest of the world. The night has that effect on people. In that moment I feel so very unsure of myself, realizing that I don't know him at all. I suddenly feel very uncomfortable, like I really am a stranger here.

"You had a nightmare." I explain and he goes through a similar wake up process as I did earlier. "I'm sorry I woke you but you seemed upset."

"Thanks I guess?" He rubs his eye and glances at the small clock beneath the tv. It's 4am. "Hmm, sorry I fell asleep on you."

I laugh uncomfortably. "I believe that it was I who quite literally feel asleep on you." He rolls his eyes. "I guess I should head home."

His face falls. I should think that he'd be a bit more miffed that we'd just cuddled on the couch for a few hours. "It's kind of late- er early for that don't you think? You could just stay til morning."

"I'm not overstaying my welcome?" I ask and it makes me feel very small and I try to reason out why. I trust Phil wholeheartedly and we're friends. I don't want to ever have any awkwardness between Phil and I so why do I feel like I need to go? Drooping eyelids make it hard to reason, harder yet to argue when he tells me that he'll take the couch and I can have his bed.

The same feeling follows me into his bedroom. I lay down on top of the duvet and my brain snaps awake. I know the feeling now. I like him in a non-platonic way and I just fell asleep in his arms. I don't know how he sees me, as a friend? A sisterly-figure? Curiosity burns in my veins; a need to know if my feelings are requited.

I take his pillow and cover my head with it, willing my head to shut up. I war with myself for the rest of the night about whether or not I should just go talk to him. Morning comes quickly and with it, relief. I'm over thinking things. When I pad out into the kitchen around 7:00 to make myself some tea, I see Phil sprawled on the couch. We're friends, no matter what and I won't let my feelings get in the way of our friendship.

He sleeps on until I've finished my tea. Dan is nowhere to be found. I decided to go home and I desperately need to talk to Sarah anyway. I find a pen and some paper and scrawl a note that I leave on the counter.

_I had fun Phil, call me later_

_Dan, you're anti-social_

_-Kate_

**A/N: Excuses of things I did instead of updating (all actually legitimate): Read ****_The Infernal Devices, _****The Scarlet Letter, ****_The Divergent Series,_**** and****A Tale of Two Cities,**** got a kitten, auditioned for a play, went to play practices, ran my season's best in Cross Country and started watching ****Supernatural****. You can see that I've been kind of busy...**


	16. Assurance

I enjoyed the walk home that morning. October was fading and the sun's warmth with it. My breath came in puffs of swirling air, mingling into the atmosphere. The city was quiet, as though the pall of cold had filled every crevice of the streets and frozen the life there.

My leather jacket, while stylish, was not warm enough. I kept my arms wrapped securely around myself and hurried onward. The route from the Lester-Howell dwelling to my own had become ingrained in my brain by now and I had no trouble getting back to my apartment.

The outer facade of the place is entirely unique to those that I've seen. The complex is situated on a side street, stretching high into the sky, large enough to accommodate a good deal of people. Yet it's individuality comes from the bright blue of it's exterior. It stands like a lonely soldier among the other buildings. The site is familiar and I associate it with home now more than my old house in America.

I enter the lobby, a small room with an elevator and staircase going off of it from the western side. I take the stairs because the exercise will distract my mind and I have less of a chance of running into someone that way.

However, six floors translated into twelve flights of stair and by the time I reach 6E, the fifth and final flat on this level, the top floor, I am panting and ready to drop. I let myself in, carefully shutting the door behind me: Sarah slept late and I didn't need her scolding me this early in the morning. As I turn back around into the living room/kitchen I am greeted by disaster. It looks like a tornado went through an art supply shop. Brushes, pallets, paint, canvases are absolutely everywhere. I sidestep an old bed sheet on the floor which serves to protect the hardwood. This action places me in view of the couch (previously hidden by an easel) and I see Sarah, sound asleep there with blue paint on her face.

I shake my head. She tended to do this sometimes and go a bit overboard.

I spent the remainder of the morning showering, blogging, confirming everything with YouTube to set up my partnership and watching _New Girl_. Sarah got up around 11am and lumbered into the kitchen to have breakfast while I had lunch.

"So..." She looks up at me over a bowl of frosted flakes. "I see that the flat's a little messy."

She laughs half hardheartedly. "Uh-hu. I don't feel like I accomplished much but I did end up making some kickass posters for the film competition." She excitedly showed me the many paintings portraying our short film that she would print on flyers.

The clock was ticking down until the showing and we seriously needed to get going. The gang showed up around two so that we could get started on filming. I called Peej to invited him over so that he could give us some pointers.

We had to wait until it was a bit darker to start so everyone mostly hung around the apartment until sunset. By that time we went up on the roof and filmed what we could; we'd add in special effects on a green screen later.

We opened a bottle of wine on the roof and Nick, Sarah and Jake (she invited him to watch) rewatched the takes. I sat a little apart, drained from the day and lack of sleep. The last rays of sun were sinking behind the buildings, illuminating the city in a gold and scarlet haze. It was one of those contradictory sunsets that looked so warm and inviting and yet there was a bitter chill in the air. I wore a peacoat and hat and scarf and gloves but the cold still wormed its way in, making me shiver. The wine helped though and I figured that I deserved it after today.

PJ, always the friendly one, must have noticed my lack of company and decided to remedy that.

"Hello. Great job today. I think everyone did really well." He too was bundled up and his brown locks poked out from under his beanie quite adorably.

"Thanks. I means a lot, especially from you. Being a professional and all." He laughed modestly at that.

"So, maybe it's none of my business but I heard that you and Phil had a little date last night." He says with a suggestive raising of the eyebrows.

I roll my eyes. "We watched some movies." It's his turn to roll his eyes. "Honestly, we're friends, that's all."

"Oh I don't doubt it but I think that there's more to it."

"Yes, how so?"

He mulls over his response like he's worried about saying something that he hadn't ought. I can't help but let a smirk steal across my face; his actions must mean that he knows something. Perhaps he's talked to Phil? What am I thinking? Friends. F is for friends, Kate. Of course Ross and Rachel were 'friends' and then bam! You're pregnant. Alright, inner monologue powering down.

"We'll... I was over there earlier and Phil was being weird. Like more than usual. He seemed sort of put out, said that you'd left early that morning. From this I deduced that you spent the night and well-"

"Nothing happened." I reaffirm.

"-I know, anyway what I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," He smiles. "Phil isn't really one to branch out and make friends. Especially not of the female gender who just stay the night, regardless of any activities taking place. His grin broadens. "So what I'm really saying is that I think he likes you." PJ leans in and winks. "You know, like likes."

I shove him back good-naturedly. "Sure." I say but a quiet, unbidden hope flares up in me.

It's been a long day but it's been a good day. The two of us abandon the roof top for the much warmer couch in 6E and everyone else quickly follows. As the room is swallowed up in conversation and laughter I ponder my timeline.

I've been in London for what, two months now? Two months ago I was a volital ball of angst and wanderlust, eager to get out and see the world. Now here I was surrounded by new friends that I felt I'd known all my life. I was lucking, very lucking indeed.

**A/N: Woooo. I'm really upset that I didn't know about NaNoWriMo sooner or I might have done it. Anyone doing it? I'd be happy to read yours! **

**Also reviews have been slacking lately, guys. Don't make me withhold these virtual cookies.**


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